Nice little read. Enjoyed spending time with the young characters in this story set in the late 60's in Minnesota as it brought back memories of the same, minus the investigation into a death! I had a little trouble believing some of it (especially the reading of the will and confession of the murderer) but tried to accept and enjoy it for what it was. ( )

A good clean mystery with twists and turns and very likable characters! This is the second book in the Beth and Evie Mystery series. I did read the first book before I read this one, just because that's the way I do things. Beth and Evie are young women who get involved in mysteries when the police seem to think there isn't much mystery to a case. The setting in the 1960s makes this more possible than it would be today. In this case, an elderly lady passes away, which doesn't seem to be unusual, but Beth senses that something is wrong. This series of books reminds me of the Father Brown series on BBC with the well-constructed mystery that is solved with the help of people in the community. I also like that these books do not have the dark side that so many mysteries have. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. ( )

This was quite an enjoyable read. The characters led the action and provided the background. Most of the book was in dialogue and the author used very little text that was not in dialogue to provide both action and background.
The story progressed logically. The conclusion had a surprise, but even that was not out of place. I was wondering how all the parts and subplots were going to fit. But they fit. The will, he painting, and the flood, were all essential to the outcome.
I admit it took me a little while to get into the story. When I did I found it to be a good read and look forward to reading other books from this author. I looked forward to my daily reading sessions. The one drawback was the layout of the pages. My first impression was that the story would be disjointed, and that was a result of the page layout. But no, it was not disjointed. It was a very smooth flow of the story. ( )

The year is 1969. Beth and her best friend Evie lead busy lives. Both are working and attending college, trying to make ends meet financially, never getting enough rest, and always running off to be somewhere else. The spring thaw brings record flooding, and threatens to strand motorists as roads become impassable. Thrown into this chaos is the unexpected death of an elderly resident. Beth has been ferrying books back and forth for Miss Almira Archer for years, as it was hard for her to get around. Though she has known her for years, Beth soon discovers that there was much she didn’t know about her. Her death seems suspicious, just the sort of mystery that Beth and Evie can’t ignore. Their snooping leads them into past secrets, and the more they dig, the more dirt gets tossed around, dirty little secrets that someone doesn’t want exposed. It’s a great mystery, intriguing and complex. The two main characters are quite real, and readers will feel their frustrations as they go about their daily lives, trying to do it all and more. These two characters were a pleasure to read about in their first adventure, “Silent Winter Solstice,” and their personalities are really developing in this tale. I enjoyed reading a mystery that was set in an era before cell phones, the internet, and social media were available. These girls relied on real footwork, their smarts, and “old-fashioned” research to solve the crime. This well-written novel is much recommended, and I look forward to Beth’s and Evie’s next adventure. ( )

This is the second book of the Beth and Evie series by Bonnie Oldre. I read the first book of this series also. Bonnie writes in a conversational style that makes you feel like you are right there as the conversations are taking place. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book and though I thought I had the murder figured out several times, I kept changing my mind. This book kept my attention throughout.